Kaerizaki
by The Ambitious Blank
Summary: Ch. 5 up! Sasuke and Naruto are given a second chance at life after making a brush with death, and are seemingly living happily ever after.. but can fate really be avoided so easily? (Sasunaru, angst)
1. Regret! Things Left Unsaid!

  
**Kaerizaki**   
**By The Ambitious Blank**   
****   
**Disclaimer**- Naruto doesn't belong to me. I wish it did, though...   
**Comments**- Okay, this is an idea that's been floating around in my head for a while. It's yet another angsty fic, but it's gonna be fluffy and sweet for a while, too. n.n The title means "second blooming", or "reflowering". I don't know much Japanese yet, so I really don't know if it's an appropriate title.. if not, someone please correct me.   
  
It takes place several years later. Sasuke's curse seal has been eliminated, because Orochimaru was killed. (I hate that bastard.) Itachi still lives, but no one knows his whereabouts. Naruto's seal has unravelled, and the fox is rampaging again. Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji, and Lee are all Jounin.. all of the others (at least in Konoha) are Chuunin. Sasuke and Naruto are 20. Warnings are for angst, cursing, spoilers, some violence.. yeah, same old, same old.   
  
---**Chapter 1- Regret! Things Left Unsaid!**   
****   
"Sasuke, we need assistance!" The radio crackled at the Uchiha, who groaned.. as if the situation wasn't desperate enough as it is.   
  
"Give me a sec, Neji, I'm busy right now!" He answered, dashing through the trees. As he jumped into the clearing where the distress signal had come from, he saw the problem immediately. The fox was rampaging in their direction, and Shikamaru had been injured, his leg crushed beneath a falling tree trunk. The Uchiha dove down, breaking apart the tree trunk with a few well-placed punches, scooping Shikamaru up in his arms. Lee exploded from the forest in front of him.   
  
"I'll take him, Sasuke-kun. Neji still needs help back there, some of the Chuunin got themselves into trouble." He said, taking Shikamaru. Shikamaru groaned.   
  
"Of all times for that tree to fall.." He muttered as Lee made to head off, back in the direction of the village.   
  
"I'm on it. Thanks, Lee." Sasuke took off again, darting through the trees, listening to the screams of the Kyuubi in the distance.   
  
_Dammit, Naruto..._   
__   
----   
  
It had all started three days ago. Sakura had been the first to notice it, as Naruto led the small group of Chuunins on a mission.. the Uzumaki was irritable to the extreme, and had almost picked a fight with Chouji, which had surprised her. Naruto, Chouji, and Shikamaru were all pretty good friends with each other. She'd reported it to Sasuke, who had promised to take a look.   
  
Sasuke had noticed it too.. when he went to fufill that promise to Sakura, he'd seen Naruto eating alone at a small cafe. He'd placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder, and the Uzumaki had whirled around and tackled him to the ground, pointing a kunai at his throat. Sasuke's Sharingans had immediately shown themselves, more out of habit than anything, widened as he realized Naruto had also switched to his "fox form".. the form where his eyes went blood red, his whiskers blurred, and his fingernails and toenails became claws. The Jounin had quickly gotten up and apologized, though rather.. hesitantly. When Sasuke asked if anything was wrong, he furiously denied it.   
  
Jiraiya was the next to investigate. Even despite his age, he still felt like a sort of father-like figure to Naruto, and had gone to check it out. Tsunade had gone with him and they'd performed a sort of check up on him. Tsunade later called Sasuke to her office, and told him that the seal was unravelling. There was nothing they could do to re-seal it until it broke completely, and she immediately prepared the Jounins and Chuunins for battle.   
  
The next day, Naruto had gotten even worse. He attacked a few people around the town, remaining in his fox form.. Kakashi and Sasuke had captured him and taken him several miles out into the forest, caging him. He'd fought them the entire way with tooth and claw,   
The seal shattered the next day.   
  
It happened early in the morning, while half the Jounins were on the watch, Kakashi and Sasuke among them. There was a huge explosion in the direction of the forest.. all eyes had immediately snapped to it. The villagers had been evacuated to the safety bunkers. Kakashi had made a comment on how this was just like the wars a few years ago as they rushed into the fray to keep the Kyuubi from destroying the village.   
  
The other half of the Jounins emerged from their homes, rushing after the first wave. The fox roared, it's voice sending waves out over the forest, bending the trees. The Jounin shielded their faces and pushed onward, the Chuunin chasing after behind them. Voices crackled continuously over the radios.. stealth wasn't the biggest issue in this mission.. it was strength and skill they needed.   
  
Tsunade's voice came through the radio. All the shinobi paused to listen to her orders.   
  
"Your mission is to find some way to restrain that fox until we can find a way to seal it back within Naruto. Sasuke, Sakura.. I know it sounds impossible, but I want you.. especially you, Sasuke.. to try and talk to him. Try and bring him back to his senses. The seal hasn't completely broken yet, so the fox isn't at full strength, but it will be if we wait too much longer. I'm counting on all of you, try to not get yourselves killed, okay? I'll join the fight in a bit, as soon as I make sure the villagers are safe. Tsunade, out!"   
  
"Ma'am!" The ninjas saluted and then continued on towards the rampaging fox. Sasuke moved forward, snapping out orders as they got closer. The Kyuubi's tails swirled around them. A shout came from behind, over the radio.   
  
"G.. GYAH!"   
  
"Kiba!!" Sakura's cry came next. Sasuke moved the microphone to his mouth, turning on the radio again.   
  
"Sakura, tend to Kiba! The rest of you Chuunin, be careful, or you'll get yourselves killed! Jounin, move forward, make sure the Chuunin don't get themselves hurt! Shikamaru, Neji, you guys head to the left! Lee, come with me, we'll take the right side! You Chuunin split into two groups and follow the Jounin!" Sasuke barked out his orders quickly and efficiently.. normally, he, Naruto, and Shikamaru would be working on a plan together, but they didn't have time to stop and think.. they had to circle around and attack from all sides. There wasn't any other choice.   
  
"Sir!" The ninjas shouted in unison, and began splitting off into their seperate groups. Kakashi led the second wave of Jounins, and his orders could be heard faintly over the comm link. The forest flew past, each step bringing them closer and closer to death.   
  
-----   
  
Sasuke tended to the wounded Chuunin. The fox's tails were just as dangerous as the rest of the demon. One of them had caught the small group of Chuunin by surprise, and they'd all been knocked back. One of them was Sakura. Sasuke grimaced as he tied off the bandages for her wounds.   
  
"Sakura, I'm going to go forward and keep trying to fufill Tsunade's orders." He said, grimly. Sakura gasped and reached out to clutch his hand as he turned to go.   
  
"Sasuke-kun, you can't! He'll kill you!!"   
  
"Sakura, if you'll be so kind as to remember, we're shinobi. Risking our lives for this kind of thing is our job." He pried his hand away from her grasp and took off, continuing on towards the Kyuubi, ignoring her pleas for him not to go that echoed through the trees after him.   
  
-----   
  
"Sasuke.. it looks like there's only a few of us left. We'll do our best to restrain the fox, but try to work fast, if you can." Kakashi's voice came sternly over the comm link.   
  
"I know, I know." Sasuke said, mouth set in a grim line. "Hold him as long as you can." He began dashing for the Kyuubi's face. Huge chains made of chakra-absorbing materials flew through the air, wrapping around the fox's nine tails, it's legs, and it's neck. It gave a loud roar, struggling, unable to move very far. The Jounin's grunts of effort could be heard through the radio. Sasuke leapt up to the tallest tree he could find, staring down at the fox, who gave a mighty snarl and tried to snap at him, but couldn't reach.   
  
"**You.. it was YOU who did this to me!! _YOUR FAULT_!!" **It roared at him. Sasuke's eyes narrowed.   
  
"Listen to yourself, dobe.. you aren't making any sense at all."   
  
"**I'LL KILL ALL YOU FILTHY HUMANS!!**"   
  
"..but you are a human yourself, Naruto." Sasuke said, staring at it in the face. It's red eyes narrowed at him as it strained even harder against the chains. It's struggles became weaker and weaker each time as the chains absorbed it's chakra. Sasuke stood firm.   
  
"Come on, Naruto.. stop being a dumbass."   
  
"**SHUT _UP_!**" The creature roared, and suddenly, with a mighy lunge, it's tails pulled free of the chains. The Kyuubi gave a snarl, the nine tails lashing about. Cries could be heard as the Jounin were thrown off their feet, and soon it was completely free.   
  
"Sasuke! Sasuke, get the hell out of there!!" Kakashi's voice shouted over the comm. Sasuke shook his head.   
  
"Not yet, Kakashi-sensei! Get the wounded to safety.. I'm going to finish this mission."   
  
"_DON'T BE AN IDIOT_!! GET OUT OF THERE!!"   
  
Sasuke hadn't ever heard Kakashi raise his voice like that before. He'd never really seen Kakashi nervous like he sounded. But it didn't matter. The fox raised a mighty paw and swatted him. He shouted, flying from the top of the tree, slamming into the ground and sliding several yards into another tree's trunk.   
  
"A.. augh.." He barely managed to struggle to his feet.. his radio was damaged and crackled with outcries from the other Jounin. Barely standing and bleeding from a few places, he staggered back towards the fox, who turned to stare at him.   
  
"**You're still alive? Hmph.. no matter, you are but a measly little fly to me..**" He raised his paw to swat at Sasuke again, knocking the Uchiha across the clearing he was standing in. Sasuke again staggered back to his feet.   
  
"Dammit, Naruto.. I won't.. let you be this stupid.." He muttered, and the fox hesitated. "..I owe you a lot.. for saving me so many times.. so this time, I'll save you." He moved forward, toward the Kyuubi again, who stared at him.   
  
Sasuke felt his heart wrench. He'd harbored feelings for his teammate for a long time. Especially after Naruto had literally knocked sense into him when he started to go to Orochimaru. Sasuke hadn't killed Itachi yet, but from Naruto, he drew the courage and the determination to gain the strength to do it on his own. That's why he was a Jounin now.. he'd fought long and hard for several years, training, and fighting against Orochimaru. All thanks to Naruto.   
  
It was that cliched story again.. two rivals falling in love. But to Sasuke, he'd always figured it would be one-sided. He figured that Naruto was just a good person, even if he was a little obnoxious, and knew that the boy had a huge sense of honor. A long time ago, Sasuke had convinced himself that Naruto would never feel for him that way.. the Uzumaki simply wasn't that kind of person. He'd probably just wanted to protect Sasuke's honor, and for that much, at least, Sasuke was thankful.   
  
_Still.._   
  
"**Why do you keep standing?!**" The Kyuubi demanded of him. "**I can kill you easily! Why do you keep getting up again?!**"   
  
"I don't like to repeat myself." Sasuke muttered, clutching a heavily bleeding wound in his side. The ground swirled beneath him, and Sasuke fell back, lying still on the ground except for his labored breathing.   
  
_I.. I can't.. get up.. _His dark eyes moved onto the Kyuubi's suddenly confused face. _Just.. make it quick, Naruto. _He closed his eyes and let unconsciousness take him.   
  
---   
  
The Kyuubi fell still, it's eyes staring at the tiny figure lying on the ground.   
  
_Kill.._   
  
He raised his paw to strike the fatal blow to the Uchiha, then hesitated again as another consciousness began to stir within him. Memories flooded into the Kyuubi's mind.   
  
_"Sasuke, you--"_   
__   
The drip of blood upon a concrete bridge. A weak, but still arrogant smirk crossing over pale features, framed by dark hair, stained with blood.   
  
_"Why.. I didn't ask you to protect_ _me!!"_   
  
A slow fall backwards. An outcry of anger and sorrow. A weak half-smile. A pale hand raising, touching his face, than falling limp.   
  
_"..I used to hate you, you_ _know.."_   
  
A trembling, terrified voice suddenly echoed within the Kyuubi's consciousness.   
  
_..Sasuke?_   
__   
The paw was lowered, and the Kyuubi gave one last cry before it began to shrink.. and soon, in its place, stood the young Jounin. His spiky blonde hair disheveled, bruises and cuts lined his body, his chakra almost completely gone from the chains that had bound him when he was the Kyuubi. He staggered forward, moving towards the prone figure on the ground. He dropped heavily to his knees next to it, drawing the almost completely still form into his arms.   
  
"S.. Sasuke..?"   
  
His voice and body were shaking uncontrollably. Mixed emotions swirled within him. He clutched the body tighter, hugging Sasuke to his chest.   
  
"U.. uu.. **UWAHHHHHHHHHH!!!**"   
  
-----   
  
"So.. you're saying there's.. absolutely nothing you can do for them..?" Sakura's voice shook as she peered in at the two boys lying in adjacent beds. Kakashi had gone back and found them both, unconscious from lack of energy and their respective wounds. Tsunade frowned, looking in over her shoulder.   
  
"..nothing. Sasuke's wounds are too severe, and Naruto's chakra is drained entirely. They.. will die." She lowered her eyes. Sakura pressed her hand to the window, tears filling her eyes. Ino put a hand on her shoulder.   
  
"There has to be something! We can't just stand here and watch them like this!! I'd give up my own life to save them, dammit! Sasuke-kun saved our village.. and Naruto.. Naruto doesn't deserve to die feeling so guilty! No one deserves that.." The Yamanaka girl stared at Tsunade. "Please! Try and think of something.. anything at all."   
  
Tsunade studied her for a long time, and then her eyes widened. "Of course.. the forbidden scroll. Wait here, you two, and keep an eye on them. They have to stay alive for just a little while longer." The two nodded shakily, and she vanished in a puff of smoke. Sakura gave a soft sigh, pressing her hand to the window's glass again.   
  
"We never had a chance with Sasuke-kun anyway, Ino." She said, quietly. "He liked Naruto.. a lot."   
  
"Huh?" Ino blinked, staring at Sakura. "How do you know??"   
  
"You couldn't tell?" The Haruno girl asked, smiling somewhat. "All those glances he sent at Naruto.. especially after Naruto went after him to keep him from going to Orochimaru.." She sighed, looking back in at Sasuke. Ino laughed softly.   
  
"That's a wierd coincedence. Shikamaru told me one day that Naruto liked Sasuke a lot, too." She said, smiling. "He said Naruto told him one day when they were watching the clouds and talking. He also said that Naruto told him not to tell anyone, but he thought I should know that I have more competition. Should have known I couldn't compete with the likes of Naruto." The two girls giggled, desperate to forget the situation they were in. Tsunade reappeared, clutching a small, ancient-looking scroll.   
  
"I got this a long time ago, when I first left this village and started gambling. Some mysterious-looking guy gave it to me, and when I won it, and he told me what it was, I thought I'd been ripped off. But.. I think just about anything is worth a try at this point, right?" She began untying the red rope wrapped around it. Ino and Sakura stared.   
  
"But.. what is it? Or what were you told it was?" Sakura asked, wiping at her eyes. Tsunade grimaced.   
  
"Supposedly.. a scroll to save you from dying."   
  
"W.. what?!" The two asked in unison.   
  
"You have to use it when the person is on the brink of death. They will be reborn again, as children, and have another chance at life." Tsunade answered. "But, I need you two for.. birthing purposes, for lack of better term." She explained. Sakura and Ino blinked simultaneously.   
  
"So.. we're going to be impregnated.. with them?" Ino asked. Tsunade nodded.   
  
"Yes. I think that these two should deserve another chance. After all, they're both dying with a lot of tasks they never completed.. and a lot of regrets. Naruto wanted to be Hokage so badly.." She touched the place on her neck where her necklace used to hang. "..and Sasuke still wants his revenge." She glanced back into the hospital room. The two girls exchanged glances.   
  
_Not to mention they never got to confess how they felt to one another._   
  
"We'll make sure to give them a good life, Hokage-sama." Ino reassured her. Tsunade nodded and moved into the room.   
  
"Okay.. we need to strip them of their shirts.." She bit her thumb and drew blood. "I need to set this up."   
  
Twenty minutes later, the pair's shirts had been removed cautiously, and Tsunade had drawn a series of kanji over their chests, and around on the floor. She'd marked Sakura and Ino's faces and stomachs, and had drawn symbols around them on the floor as well. Kakashi and Iruka had been called and stood in the room. Several others were watching from the hallway outside. Tsunade looked at the scroll, memorized the seal pattern, and then rolled it up, forming the hand seals quickly.   
  
The symbols drawn on Naruto and Sasuke glowed a bright blue, then merged together into glowing orbs of the same bright blue. The symbols on Sakura and Ino swirled around to their abdomens, and the orbs flew forward, absorbing into their bodies. The symbols drawn on them vanished, and all three women collapsed to the ground, suddenly exhausted. Kakashi moved forward quickly and helped Tsunade up, while Iruka helped up the other two.   
  
"I.. don't feel all that much different.." Ino said, patting her stomach. Sakura nodded in agreement, leaning against a wall.   
  
"Same here, aside from the fact I'm dead tired." She said. Tsunade managed a weak smile.   
  
"Oh, trust me.. you'll both be feeling it in a few months." She said. The two girls nodded. Kakashi spoke up.   
  
"You two won't be getting any missions for a while.. this is sort of a mission in itself. It'll seem easy for a while, but it'll get a lot harder later, trust me." He said, solemnly. Iruka smirked.   
  
"And what would _you_ know about being pregnant, Kakashi?" He asked, smugly. He was pleased for the chance to tease Kakashi about something for once. Kakashi just rolled his eyes, silently promising revenge for that. Tsunade smiled.   
  
"Now, now, you two. Considering the treaties we've made with the other countries, I think the number of missions will be down for a while, so we don't have to worry about you two being needed or anything. Also.." She turned to the group huddled together outside the room. "Tenten, I'd like you to help watch out for them, okay. And the rest of you.." She looked at the others. "I want you all to help them as much as you can. If they ask for help, don't gripe about it, otherwise I'll come deal with you myself." She smirked, and then let Kakashi help her out of the room.   
  
"Well, this is troublesome." Shikamaru snorted. "So.. Sasuke and Naruto are gonna be little kids again?"   
  
"That'll be really strange." Lee commented. "Sakura, please allow me the honor of assisting you back to your house!"   
  
"Actually.. Sakura, we could just stay at my house. It's a little bigger, and we might wanna stay together for this, you know?" Ino said, turning to her friend. Sakura nodded.   
  
"Yeah, that's a good idea. Lee-san, I'd appreciate the help." She smiled at him. He blushed and nodded, hurrying to offer his shoulder for her to lean on. Tenten took her other side. Shikamaru and Chouji moved into the room, both of them helping Ino out. The group of people outside moved out of the way quickly to let them pass.   
  
"This.. is definitely going to turn out to be interesting." Jiraiya commented. Kurenai smiled, looking up at him.   
  
"Think you'll be able to handle babysitting duty?"   
  
---**To Be Continued...**   
  
Whew, that was a pretty long chapter. Anyway, I hope I captured your interest, 'cause I'm hoping this is going to turn out as good as I imagined it. More to come soon.   
  
--TAB   
  



	2. Hope Restored? Naruto and Sasuke Reborn!

  
**Kaerizaki**   
**By The Ambitious Blank**   
****   
**Disclaimer**- Naruto still isn't mine. I can't draw that well anyway..   
**Comments**- Wow, I got so much encouragement pretty quick. n.n; I'm glad this is an original idea, 'cause it really interests me a lot, which is more than I can say for a lot of my fics that I've done. XD Anyway. Next chapter, comin' up.   
  
Oh, also.. yeah, I am skipping ahead at seemingly random times, but I wanna hit some crucial points in Naruto and Sasuke's lives. I'm gonna try and focus more on their years at the Academy and going back into a team and things like that. So.. yeah. ; Oh, and just to clear things up.. Ino has Sasuke, Sakura has Naruto. I would have given Sasuke to Sakura, (it might've made more sense), but.. umm.. I think Ino would kill Naruto, so.. xD Yeah.   
  
---**Chapter 2- Hope Restored? Sasuke and Naruto, Reborn!**   
****   
Almost nine months had passed. Nine months of morning sickness, constant kicking (especially by Naruto.. it certainly made Sakura grouchy sometimes..) and impatient waiting.   
  
Ino and Sakura sat together outside, talking to each other about what was to come.   
  
"What do you think?" Sakura asked, looking out over the street in front of Ino's home as she sipped at some tea. "..you think Naruto's gonna be as obnoxious of a little kid as he was before?" She patted her stomach, wincing as Naruto gave another kick, as if he'd overheard what she'd said. Ino laughed.   
  
"Maybe. But.. I mean, this whole thing is so that Sasuke-kun and Naruto have another chance at life.. and with each other, right? They both ended up the way they were because of the horrible things that happened in the past.." She set down her teacup, musing. "So maybe if they aren't so lonely.. they won't turn out so bad."   
  
"I hope you're right." Sakura murmured wistfully. "I certainly wasn't planning on spending the rest of my life chasing an orange blur around the house." They both giggled. Ino sighed to herself, patting her own stomach.   
  
"You'll be a good kid, right, Sasuke?" She asked, smiling. "You'll help keep little Naruto in line, won't you?"   
  
"I probably could use the help." Sakura said, looking down at herself. "Naruto's gonna be a handful."   
  
"You should ask Leeeee-sannn.." Ino said, stretching out the name teasingly. "He seems to like you well enough." To her amusement, Sakura turned a vague shade of red and seemed to sink down in her chair slightly.   
  
"I know.. and I'm sure he'll be more than happy to help. But.. I dunno, even despite all his hard work and stuff.. I betcha a baby Naruto will be more than enough to wear him out." She said, laughing again. Ino laughed with her.  
  
"I bet so too." She said, standing up carefully. "I'm gonna go ask Tenten to make some more tea, okay?" Being extra cautious not to fall, she began to make her way back toward the house, suddenly freezing.   
  
"M-my.. my water! It broke!" She cried. Sakura hurried to her feet as best she could.   
  
"I'll go get Ten-- oh no, mine too!!"   
  
Luckily for them, Tenten happened to come out of the house at that very moment. She saw the two girls, and as they shouted at her, she realized immediately what was wrong and dashed back into the house to call the hospital.   
  
--   
  
"A.. AHHHH!!" Sakura and Ino screamed at the same time, their hands linked together. They'd been put into adjacent beds in the hospital, and were squeezing the hell out of each other's hands. A huge group had come to watch the rebirth of the two shinobi. Lee took one look at what was happening and passed out on the floor. Gai sighed and carried him off. Hinata had run over to Sakura's side and was clutching her hand.   
  
"Come on, Sakura!" She cried over the girls' screams. "You can do it!" She encouraged. Neji twitched. He'd never seen the girl so.. enthusiastic about something. Shikamaru looked interested in something for once. Chouji was cheering Ino on from the side.   
  
"Go Ino! C'mon, another push, that's it! Yeah!"   
  
Tsunade smiled as she watched, sometimes helping out the nurses and doctors as they rushed around. Ino shouted again.   
  
"This is all your FAULT, Hokage-sama!!" She shrieked. A nurse bowed to Tsunade, fretfully.   
  
"Please don't worry, Hokage-sama, they always say that." After getting a confused stare from the blonde woman, the nurse flushed and giggled.   
  
"Er, okay, maybe they don't.. but I figured I should cheer you up. We're almost done."   
  
"Okay, Sakura, one more push.. that's it!" The doctor encouraged the pink-haired girl. She was pressed back against her pillows, her face drenched in sweat, hair splayed all over the place, dampened with the perspiration. Ino wasn't any different. Both girls gave one last scream, and within a few moments, the doctors handed them Naruto and Sasuke, wrapped in layers of blankets. Crying filled the room, and all the tension in the group that was looking on seemed to melt away. Sakura stared at the child in her arms.   
  
"Naruto.." She said, smiling, her hand reaching up to brush over the familiar whiskers, petting the tuft of blonde hair on his head. Hinata leaned over her shoulder to look, smiling down at the baby. Ino was studying Sasuke's face. The Uchiha stopped crying after a few moments, his dark eyes opening to stare around him. Ino gently smoothed down the small bit of black hair that sat atop his forehead, smiling.   
  
"Sasuke.. you never liked crying much, did you?" She asked. The child stared at her. Sakura giggled from the bed beside them.   
  
"Oh, look.. they're so cute! His hands are so tiny."   
  
"I know!" Ino cried, not able to help the happy tears that spilled from her eyes. Sakura was crying, too, and the two girls glanced to each other, laughing. The group moved forward cautiously, each taking a turn looking at the newly reborn children. Lee had come back in, peering over at Naruto first, then Sasuke.   
  
"Amazing." He said, quietly. "A miracle." The group murmured in agreement. Sakura nodded.   
  
"It is. It really is. Don't cry, little Naruto.." She said, poking his nose affectionately. "I'll make sure you don't have to hurt ever again." She held him up a little, so that he could look over at Ino, who held up Sasuke in return. Naruto's cries ceased as he stared at the other baby. Ino laughed.   
  
"You see? They like each other already."   
  
----**One Year Later..**   
  
"Oh, Sakura's here already.." Ino mused, lifting Sasuke out of his high chair and carrying him with her as she walked towards the front door, opening it. Sakura stood outside, Naruto in one arm, a bag of baby items and supplies in the other.   
  
"Hey, Ino!" She said, cheerfully. "How's Sasuke doing?"   
  
"Pretty good, I'd say." She answered, smiling at the baby boy. "He kept me up a few nights with crying, but he's a good kid, aren't you, Sasuke?" She grinned, shaking him a little. He blinked, staring at Naruto, who was staring back with his bright blue eyes. Sakura sighed.   
  
"Naruto's kept me up more than a few nights. But I'd say it's worth it. I mean, I'm used to getting up early, considering Kakashi-sensei used to call us out to meet him ridiculously early in the morning." She laughed, and Ino smiled.   
  
"Come on in, then. We'll let them visit with each other." She said. "You'll like that, won't you, Sasuke? You haven't seen Naruto for a week now."   
  
"Da." Naruto said, grinning widely. Ino stared, and laughed.   
  
"Yeah, there's no doubting it.. that's the same Naruto. Has the same grin and everything." They set the two children in the playpen and sat down to talk. Naruto crawled over to Sasuke, and reached up, poking him in the face. Sasuke blinked in surprise and poked him back. Naruto blinked as well, having not expected retaliation. The two boys stared at each other for a while, and then Sasuke picked up his stuffed dragon from the floor and hugged it.   
  
Sakura, who had been watching all this, reached into her bag and handed Naruto a little stuffed fox, which he took eagerly. He held it tightly to his chest for a moment, then noticed Sasuke watching him intently. Slowly, he held out the fox to the other boy, and Sasuke held out his dragon. They traded, both of them smiling brightly. Ino laughed, watching them.   
  
"They're so much different than what they used to be."   
  
"No kidding." Sakura said, her hands in her lap as she watched them. "But I've changed, too. I mean.. you remember me back then. I used to hate Naruto for a long time, and even when I got to know him better, I still wasn't all that nice. Now, it's like.. I can't even imagine myself hating him. I know I'm not his real mother or anything.. but I've still got that motherly instinct I've heard so much about, you know? Like I'd protect him with my life, if I had to." She said, looking down at the small blonde child as the two boys played with their toys. Ino nodded.   
  
"I know what you mean. I look at Sasuke now, and I can't imagine myself ever have liked him like I used to. I love him, but not in the same way, obviously." She smiled down at the darker-haired boy. "I love him like my mom loves me."   
  
"Yeah." Sakura said, nodding. "Heh.. Lee-san's been hanging around a lot lately. He says that even though I might not like him that way, he feels like he should be responsible for taking care of Naruto, too." Ino giggled.   
  
"Riiight. I think you're starting to warm up to him a lot more, Sakura."   
  
"Oh yeah, like you aren't the same way with Shikamaru!" Sakura shot back.   
  
"I am not!" Ino cried defensively. The two girls stared at each other, and then they both started laughing together. Ever since each girl had realized they stood no chance with Sasuke, they'd become a lot closer friends. Ino shook her head.   
  
"I think it's a good thing Sasuke's pretty well-behaved. Shikamaru hangs around a lot, but he doesn't do much except laze around. He plays with Sasuke a little, but eventually he falls asleep with him. It's hard enough caring for one baby." She giggled again.   
  
While the two mothers chattered away, Naruto crawled close to Sasuke, staring at him with his wide blue eyes. Sasuke blinked his narrower dark ones, turning to look at the other with a questioning look.   
  
"Ba!" Naruto cried, and without any reasoning at all, lunged forward. The two boys' foreheads knocked together, and Sasuke fell onto his back. Those dark eyes widened in surprise, a small red spot forming on his forehead, and then the tears began to flow. Sasuke opened his mouth and started bawling. The two girls had been watching, and both of them were surprised. Ino jumped up and lifted Sasuke into her arms.   
  
"Shh, shh, baby, it's okay.. Naruto didn't mean it." She cooed. Sakura reached down and picked Naruto up into her arms.   
  
"God, Ino, I'm so sorry.. Naruto! What's gotten into you?" She demanded of the child. Naruto stared at her, then at Sasuke, and giggled. Sakura sighed heavily.   
  
"You're impossible. I think we'd better go, Ino.. sorry about that." She smiled weakly and picked up her bag.   
  
"It's not your fault, Sakura." Ino said, smiling back. "Wave bye, Sasuke.. maybe you two'll get along better tomorrow." Sakura moved and gave Ino a brief hug, then turned to walk towards the door. Quite suddenly, a rubber ball flew through the air, hitting Naruto straight on the head. Sakura hadn't noticed what had happened, and flinched as Naruto seemingly started crying for no reason.   
  
"Ohh, what's the matter now, Naruto?" She asked as they left the house.   
  
Ino stared down at Sasuke, who looked quite pleased with himself.   
  
----**Four Years Later...**   
  
"Can Sasuke come out and play??" Naruto yelled as he pounded the unmoving door with his small fist. Just as Sakura opened her mouth to scold him for being so rude, Ino opened it, smiling.   
  
"Good morning to you too, Naruto." She glanced up at Sakura, who rolled her eyes.   
  
"Naruto insisted on coming to see Sasuke at eight in the morning. I told him I'd let him, if he ate all his breakfast."  
  
"I wanted ramen, but Mommy said I had to have some miso soup, 'cause it's better." Naruto said, as if the fact was one that everyone would need to use later in life. Ino laughed, and turned around.   
  
"Sasuke! Naruto's here to see you! Hurry and finish your breakfas--" She blinked as the dark haired boy pushed past her.   
  
"Hi, Naruto!" He said, cheerfully. Sakura blinked. She still hadn't gotten used to the fact that Sasuke smiled a lot more now. Ino leaned against the doorway, crossing her arms and watching them. Naruto beamed, bouncing on the balls of his feet.   
  
"Hi, Sasuke!" He returned. "Mommy said we can go to the park today 'cause I ate her miso soup instead of ramen, it was icky.. wanna go??" As Sasuke blinked his big, dark eyes in confusion, Sakura gave Naruto a playful bonk on the head.   
  
"Well, it was either my 'icky miso', or you starving."   
  
"I'd rather starve!" Naruto shot back, sticking out his tongue. Ino snickered to herself.. Naruto hadn't changed all that much, after all. Sakura smirked and put her hands on her hips.   
  
"Is that so? Don't make me put you in time out again, kiddo.. you won't be able to see Sasuke for a few days." She threatened. Naruto's blue eyes widened.   
  
"AHH! No, okay, okay, I'm sorry!" He cried, clinging to Sasuke, who still looked vaguely confused. Ino laughed and patted them both on the head.   
  
"Go on, you two. Sasuke, be careful, and remember to hold either Naruto or Sakura's hand until you get to the park, okay?" She asked, ruffling his dark hair. Sasuke made a noise of protest, trying to straighten it back into it's proper messy spikes.   
  
"Mommmmm.." He whined, fixing his hair. Ino grinned and then disappeared back into the house, closing the door behind her. Naruto giggled.   
  
"Heehee.. Sasuke, you look funny with your hair all messed up." He said, grinning. Sasuke glared at him and bopped him on the head with one of his small fists.   
  
"Shut up!" He snapped. Naruto kept laughing. Sasuke pouted, and Naruto smiled and hugged his friend.   
  
"Awwh, don't look so mad, Sasuke!" He said. "I'm just kidding! You're my bestest friend ever, after all." He said, puffing out his chest and patting Sasuke on the back. The Uchiha blinked, thought about that for a few seconds, and then smiled back. They grabbed each others' hands and started off toward the park.   
  
----   
  
"Hey, it's Lee-san!" Naruto cried, breaking away from Sakura and Sasuke and running over to the figure clad in green and a Jounin vest across the dirt road. Sakura's eyes widened as she took Sasuke's hand and hurried after.   
  
"Naruto! Naruto, stop!" She yelled. Lee blinked down at the small blur approaching him, laughing when he saw who it was, reaching down and scooping Naruto into his arms.   
  
"Well, good morning, Naruto-kun. How are you doing?" He asked, smiling. Naruto spread his arms wide, grinning.   
  
"I'm good, except for having to eat Mommy's icky miso soup this morning."   
  
"Awwh, I'm sure it wasn't that bad." Lee reassureed him, laughing and looking up as Sakura approached them. "Good morning, Sakura. I see Naruto-kun is already giving you excercise."   
  
"Indeed." Sakura said, bopping Naruto on the head again. "How many times do I have to tell you not to run away from me, Naruto??" She demanded. Naruto giggled.   
  
"Oopsie." He said, smirking at Lee, who laughed again and then set Naruto down, dropping down into a kneel.   
  
"And how are you, Sasuke-kun?" He asked.   
  
"Fine." Sasuke answered, shifting from foot to foot. Naruto ran over, latching onto Sasuke's arm again.   
  
"Of course he's fine! He's with his bestest friend ever, right, Sasuke??"   
  
"Uh-huh." Sasuke said, with a hesitant nod. He was a little more shy than Naruto was. Naruto beamed and turned to look at Lee.   
  
"We're gonna go to the park! Wanna come play with us??" He asked, enthusiastically. Lee stood up and thought about it.   
  
"Hmm, I dunnnnooo.." He said, stretching out his words purposefully to tease the Uzumaki child. "I was _going_ to do some training today, buutttt.."   
  
"Awwh, pleeeeeease?" Naruto begged, staring up at him with his big blue eyes. Lee chuckled inwardly.   
  
_I betcha there's not a person in the world that can resist those eyes._ He mused, smiling.   
  
"Well.. okay."   
  
"HURRAY!" Naruto launched himself back into Lee's arms. Sakura knelt down and picked Sasuke up.   
  
"Shall we go, then?" She asked, smiling over at Lee, who smiled back. The four of them walked down towards the park, where the two elders set down the children, who immediately started running around. Lee smiled back at Sakura then moved to go play with him.   
  
"Oh no!" Naruto cried. "It's the evil, giant, thick-browed monster! I, Uzumaki Naruto, the Hokage of Konoha, will defeat you!!" He shouted. "Run, Sasuke, I'll save you!" He said, standing in front of his hand, picking up a small twig and holding it like a kunai. Sasuke reached down and picked up a longer stick to use as a sword.   
  
"I'll help too!" He said, as Lee marched towards them, making growling noises. Sakura watched them with a smile on her face, sitting down on a bench to watch their game. Eventually, the two five-year-olds managed to stab Lee enough that he let out a roar and fell to the ground, unmoving. Naruto climbed onto his chest and cheered. Sasuke watched from a little farther back, giggling.   
  
"We won, we won, we beat the monster! Good job, my best Jounin!" He yelled triumphantly, giving a thumbs up to Sasuke. Lee suddenly sat up and grabbed Naruto, giving a playful growl. Naruto screamed.   
  
"Ahhhhh! He got me! Help me, Sasuke!!" He called to his friend, who ran over and immediately started poking Lee in the leg. Lee roared again and reached down, scooping little Sasuke into his arms as well.   
  
"Get him!" Naruto cried, biting down onto Lee's arm. Sakura yelled at him to play nice, and Naruto hesitantly released Lee's arm. Sasuke was still furiously poking at Lee's chest with his stick. Lee moved over to a pile of leaves and unceremoniously deposited the two children into it. The leaves flew everywhere, and Naruto exploded from the pile, throwing them about him. Sasuke was laughing and throwing them around with him, and the two ran around in the rain of leaves. Lee moved back to sit down next to Sakura, exhausted.   
  
"Y'know, Naruto's gonna make a good ninja again." He said, chuckling. "Got some good tactics on him."   
  
"Still, he shouldn't have bitten you, Lee-san.." Sakura said, frowning. Lee grinned at her.   
  
"Oh, don't worry, I can take it. I mean, I've taken a lot worse, haven't I?" He asked. Sakura sighed and smiled.   
  
"Yeah, I suppose so." She agreed. Lee turned to watch the two boys as they frolicked together through the leaves, smiling as they tired themselves out and collapsed into the pile, side by side.   
  
Naruto lazily threw some leaves over at Sasuke, who threw them back. Eventually, it escalated into an all-out wrestling match, the two of them turning over and over in the leaves. The foliage caught in their hair and clothes as they pinned each other down, each of them growling playfully as they fought. Eventually, Naruto pinned Sasuke down, then collapsed on top of him, exhausted. Sasuke gave a soft "oomph", but didn't protest, too worn out to do anything about it.   
  
It wasn't long before they were asleep, exactly as they were.   
  
---**To Be Continued...**   
  
Nice and fluffy. . It's gonna be basically like this for a bit. Teehee.   
  



	3. Reunion! A Familiar Face Returns!

**Kaerizaki**  
**By The Ambitious Blank**  
****   
**Disclaimer**- Naruto still is not mine. --;  
**Comments**- Yay, people like this fic. :D That makes me happy. So far it's coming out decently, pretty much as I had planned it. But.. be warned, people, it's not going to be total fluff, especially near the end. As for a few of your questions..  
  
Well, let's just say it's all one big maaaayyyybeeeeee. n.n  
  
Before the chapter begins.. Sasuke and Naruto are now eight and entering the Academy. I may or may not stretch their Academy years over a few chapters. For those who aren't good at math, the current ages of everyone are:  
Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino, Gaara, Sakura, etc. (all the twelve-year-old rookies): 28  
Iruka: 41  
Kakashi: 42  
Itachi: 33  
Tsunade and Jiraiya: 66  
Rock Lee, Neji, Tenten: 29  
Konohamaru and the Konohamaru Corps: 24 (Now that's just wierd. Konohamaru and co. will come in later.)  
  
--**Chapter 3- Reunion! A Familiar Face Returns!**  
****   
"Hey.. why do you keep coming back here? I thought there was nothing here for you anymore. Especially after Sasuke almost bested you in the last fight you had eight years ago, after he became a Jounin."  
  
"..."  
  
"Hey, answer me."  
  
"..there's something wrong."  
  
"Wrong? What do you mean?"  
  
"It's Sasuke.. something's changed about him."  
  
"What the hell do you mean? I don't get it."  
  
"..neither do I."  
  
----  
  
"Naruto! Naruto, c'mon, we're gonna be late for our first day of school!!" Sasuke yelled, knocking on the door of Sakura's apartment. "We can't be late, or else Iruka-sensei's gonna scold us!"  
  
"I'm coming, I'm coming! Hey, Mooommmm! Do you know where my goggles went?"  
  
"They're on your head, Naruto." Sakura's voice pointed out. There was a pause, and then a sheepish Naruto responded back.  
  
"Oh yeah, huh?" He laughed and then there was a scuffle, a loud crash, Sakura's voice telling him to be more careful, and then the door was flung open, and Sasuke jumped back as Naruto almost charged right into him.  
  
"Watch it!" He yelled. Naruto smirked.  
  
"Naruto! What about breakfast?" Sakura called after him. Naruto turned and stuck her tongue out at her.  
  
"I don't want any of your icky miso!" He called back, and then laughing as the Haruno woman shouted curses after him, ran over to the stairs and slid down the railing, landing easily into the street below and taking off toward the Academy. Sasuke sighed.  
  
"Doesn't even bother to wait for me.." He muttered, and hurled himself over the railing, landing on the street below with the grace of a cat, dashing after and quickly closing the gap between them.  
  
Sakura watched him from the doorway, arms crossed.  
  
"He really hasn't changed all that much.." She murmured thoughtfully, then smiled and went back inside.  
  
----  
  
The door to the classroom was flung open, and the two eight-year-old boys slid inside. Naruto tripped and fell on his face, and the entire class laughed. Naruto stood up and grinned sheepishly, while Sasuke just looked embarrassed. Iruka turned from the podium where he was standing, role call sheet in hand. His dark eyes widened at the sight of the two.. they looked exactly the same as they had when he'd had them in the Academy so many years ago.   
  
Sure, he knew about the physical appearance.. he'd gone and visited them at their respective houses several times, and had even run around with them in the park on a few days when he was free from work. But the expressions they had, their personalities, even in those few seconds, were almost identical to what they would have been a long time ago. Iruka put a hand to his chest as a strange twinge tugged at his heart. Sighing, he smiled at them.  
  
"Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. Really, Naruto, this is the kind of behavior I expected from you, but not from you, Sasuke." He said, putting his hands on his hips. Sasuke moved in front of Naruto protectively, taking the other boy's hand into his.  
  
"I.. I wanted to walk him to school." He stammered, still blushing because some of the class was still giggling at him. "Umm, 'cause.. I was worried he might get himself hurt or something."  
  
"Alright, alright.. I won't mark you late because it's your first day. Go have a seat, you two.. take the two seats between Kazue and Takeshi." He pointed to the front row. Two children waved at them, and they moved quickly to take their seats. There was a girl with dark auburn hair, green eyes, and.. fangs? Naruto blinked, then realized why. The red marks on her face, beneath her eyes.. she was an Inuzuka. The boy sitting three seats away had dark, black hair that shone almost violet in the light. It was combed over to one side, barely covering his right eye, which Naruto could see had a scar over it. His left eye was completely white.. a Hyuuga. The girl smiled as Naruto took a seat next to her.  
  
"Hi!" She said, beaming. "I'm Inuzuka Kazue! Oh, and this is Shiromaru." She gestured to a white wolf puppy that was sitting on the desk in front of her. The wolf glanced to the two boys with its bright blue eyes, yawned widely, and then laid it's head back down and fell asleep. Kazue sighed and prodded him.  
  
"Shiromaru, we aren't the Nara clan! Don't be so lazy! Say hello or something!"  
  
The pup opened one eye to stare at her, and then turned away. Meanwhile, Sasuke was looking at the person he was sitting next to. Judging from the bandages around his head, he was a Hyuuga from the Branch House, Sasuke noted. The boy turned to glance at him.  
  
"Hello." He said, a bit shyly. "I'm Hyuuga Takeshi." Sasuke nodded in greeting to him. The boy smiled a little, then glanced back to the front, where Iruka was beginning to speak. Sasuke elbowed Naruto, who was too busy trying to get Kuromaru to wake up to notice the teacher. Naruto growled in protest, but glanced down to Iruka.  
  
[ A/N: A quick note. No, Takeshi and Kazue are not the children of Naruto and Sasuke's friends.. it wouldn't make any sense at this point.. 'cause they would have had to been born in the same year as Naruto and Sasuke were reborn. n.n; And since I failed to mention that, those two are children of other members of their respective clans. Naruto and Sasuke's friends' children will come in later, but they'll be Konohamaru's age compared to Naruto and Sasuke. ]  
  
"Today, we'll be learning the basics of becoming a full-fledged shinobi!" Iruka said, pointing to a sketch of a human on the chalkboard. "There are two types of energy. Body energy, and energy you get from training. Now, these two together form your chakra.."  
  
Naruto sighed and stopped paying attention. He and Sasuke knew the basics already. Sakura had explained it to them both. Yawning widely, he put his head down on the desk. Kazue blinked at him.  
  
"Hey, aren't you gonna pay attention?" She asked, softly. Naruto glanced at her.  
  
"Nah, I've already learned all this."  
  
An eraser came flying through the air and hit Naruto squarely on the head. Naruto jerked in surprise and looked up. Iruka was glaring at him, hands on his hips.  
  
"Naruto! Pay attention!" He said, sharply. The class giggled. Naruto looked around him, blushing, then glanced to Sasuke, who had his hand over his mouth and was trying to stifle his laughter.  
  
"Oh, not you too, Sasuke.." He whined, putting his head back down and watching the teacher disinterestedly. Sasuke reached over and rubbed at Naruto's forehead. The blonde child jerked up and glared.  
  
"What are you doing?!" He hissed. Sasuke smiled, stifling more laughter with his hand.  
  
"You had chalk dust on your forehead." He said. Naruto blinked and went cross-eyed, trying to see. Takeshi, Kazue, and Sasuke giggled softly. Iruka gave an audible, heavy sigh from the front and turned around.  
  
"Naruto, Takeshi, Kazue, and Sasuke! Outside, now! I'll talk to you in a minute. Naruto, Kazue, I expected this kind of behavior from you, but Takeshi, Sasuke.. I'm very disappointed in you both." Sasuke and Takeshi just hung their heads and trudged outside, trying to ignore the class' laughter. Naruto and Kazue 'hmph'ed softly and stood up to storm outside, Shiromaru on Kazue's heels. Iruka put his hands on his hips. As Naruto passed him, the Uzumaki boy looked up and laughed.  
  
"You look just like an angry mother hen, Iruka-sensei." He said, grinning widely as Iruka's face turned a dark shade of red, dodging a bop aimed at his head, and dashed outside as the class burst out laughing again.  
  
-----  
  
"This is all your fault, Naruto!" Kazue whined. "If you hadn't been disruptive in the first place.."  
  
"Yeah, but you were the one who was talkin' to me when he threw that eraser at me!" Naruto argued back. Takeshi looked uncomfortable with all the arguing. Sasuke sighed. Naruto turned on him next.  
  
"And you! Did you hafta start touching my head like that! You coulda just _told_ me there was stuff on my head!" He said, loudly. Takeshi made a half-hearted attempt to shush him, but it went completely ignored. Sasuke stared at Naruto for a moment, then smiled and reached out, rubbing at his head again.  
  
"There's still some chalk dust on you." He said. The four children stared at each other, and then burst out laughing. The door slammed open, and they quickly flattened themselves against the wall, all of them stifling their giggles. Iruka glared at them.  
  
"What am I supposed to do with you all?!" He demanded, putting a hand to his forehead. "You're disruptive even when I send you outside!" He sighed, looking around.  
  
"Problems, Iruka-sensei?" Chouji was passing by, pausing to blink at his old teacher. "You have worry lines all over your face again." He pointed out. The four giggled again. Iruka glared at them.  
  
"Chouji, can I ask you to do me a favor and escort these four to the Hokage? They were being extremely disruptive in class, and still are being disruptive.. we can still hear them inside the classroom." He said. Chouji gave a faint smile and knelt down in front of the four kids, looking them all in the eye. Takeshi looked away. Naruto and Kazue glared. Sasuke just looked cutely confused. Chouji chuckled and nodded, standing up and ruffling Kazue's hair, earning a glare from the girl.   
  
"Sure, I'll take 'em." He said, and turned to head down the hallway. The four (five, if you count Shiromaru), trudged after him. As they exited the classroom and began down the street toward where the Hokage's office was, Naruto stopped to glance at a sign in a restaurant window. Quickly, he turned to the other three.  
  
"Hey, hey! Give me your lunch money!" He hissed. The other three blinked at him.  
  
"W.. what??" Sasuke demanded, putting his hands in his pockets to keep Naruto from reaching into them. "No way!"   
  
"No, I have an idea to keep us from getting to the Hokage!" Naruto whispered, holding out his hand. Kazue looked to the sign, and then grinned, digging into her pockets and handing Naruto a wad of bills and some change. Naruto counted it. Takeshi, after reading the sign as well, fished out his own money and handed it over. Sasuke blinked and looked at the window, then grinned as he realized what Naruto was up to. He pulled out the money Ino gave him and gave it to the blonde, who smirked and trotted to catch up to Chouji.  
  
"Hey, hey.. Chouji-sensei!" He said, holding up the money. "We're sorry for making you go to the trouble of taking us to Hokage-sama.. so we'll buy you some Korean barbeque!" He grinned, pointing to the sign. Chouji blinked and turned to look at the poster in the restaurant's window.  
  
It was an all-you-can eat day.  
  
Chouji grinned.  
  
----  
  
"Hm, I wonder why they never came back.. I don't think Hokage-sama would have been _that_ angry.." Iruka mused quietly as he walked down the street toward the Hokage's office. He'd left Kakashi in charge of the class as he went out to look for the children. "Chouji's responsible enough, right..?" He casually glanced in the window of the Korean barbeque restaurant. Chouji and the four children, plus Shiromaru, were all sitting in a booth and cooking their meat on the grill built into the table. Kazue was slipping pieces of it to her puppy, Naruto was stuffing his face, Takeshi was trying not to burn himself, and Sasuke was cautiously blowing on his bit of food to cool it down. Iruka smiled and continued walking.  
  
"Haha.. they're so cute."  
  
He froze.  
  
"Wait just a minute..!!" He took several steps back, staring at the scene.  
  
"_CHOOOUUJJJJIII!!_"  
  
----  
  
As it turned out, Chouji got into more trouble than the kids did. Tsunade was scolding him severely for taking a bribe of food. "And from children, no less!" She'd turned to the children and told them to stop disrupting class or she'd come down there herself. They'd all nodded and ran from her office.  
  
"Hahaha! Ahh, did you _see_ Chouji-sensei's face??" Kazue crowed, grinning widely. Naruto gave her a high five.  
  
"Yeah! He was in such deep trouble!" He said, laughing. "He knew he was screwed.. did you see Hokage-sama's face?? She was so pissed!"  
  
"G-guys, I dunno.. that was kinda mean." Takeshi said, softly. "I mean.. Chouji-sensei can't help it, right..?"  
  
"Eh, his fault." Kazue said casually, folding her arms behind her head. "He should have known better." She snorted. Sasuke nodded.  
  
"Chouji-sensei's a good ninja, but he needs to learn to get his mind off food every once in a while." He said. Naruto clapped him on the back.  
  
"Exactly!" He said, loudly. Sasuke sighed and rubbed his back.  
  
"Hey, hey! Do you guys wanna come play with us in the park today? Maybe we can find Lee-san again!" Naruto said, grinning. Kazue nodded eagerly, and Takeshi shifted on his feet.  
  
"Yeah, that sounds like fun!" Kazue said. "I gotta run home and ask my mom if it's okay, but I'll meet you there!" She said, smiling, and then turned and dashed off down the street with Shiromaru on her heels. Takeshi managed a small smile himself.  
  
"I gotta go ask, too.. but I'm sure it'll be okay." He ran off in another direction. "See you guys there!"  
  
"C'mon, Sasuke, we can go to my house.. my mom said your mom was coming over today, so we'll ask them there." Naruto said, grinning. Sasuke nodded, and the two boys ran off down the street.  
  
They were completely unaware of the pair of blood red eyes that watched them from a rooftop.  
  
----  
  
"The park, huh? So you guys met some new friends?" Sakura asked, looking down from the couch she and Ino were sitting on as the two boys looked up at them. Naruto nodded.  
  
"Yeah! There's a girl and a boy.. the girl is from the Inuzuka Clan, her name's Kazue. And then there's the boy, who's from the Hyuuga Clan.."  
  
"The Branch House of the Hyuuga Clan." Sasuke put in. Naruto glared at him for interrupting, then continued.  
  
"Yeah, anyway, his name's Takeshi. He's kinda shy." He grinned. Sakura looked to Ino.  
  
"I'll run them down to the park real quick, Ino.. you mind waiting here for a few minutes? I know you're kinda tired." She smiled. Ino nodded.  
  
"That's fine. Thanks, Sakura."  
  
"No problem." The pink-haired woman stood and ushered the two boys out the door again, closing it behind her. The boys clattered down the steps of her apartment building, darting down into the street. Sakura followed after as quickly as she could. They turned down into a smaller street devoid of life.. it was a little-used street, but it was a shortcut the two boys had discovered to the park.  
  
"I'll race you, Sasuke!!" Naruto shouted, and then started running ahead. Sakura didn't bother to stop him, she knew there was nothing she could do, and there wouldn't be any harm in it, as Naruto already knew the way. Sasuke frowned.  
  
"H-hey, wait, I wasn't ready!" He shouted, and started to run after, halting as a shadow leapt from the building above, landing in the street directly in front of him. Another shadow followed it, bigger, landing behind the first. Sakura's eyes widened as she saw who it was. Sasuke stumbled back in surprise, landing on his behind from stopping so fast, staring up at the face of the shadow.  
  
"Itachi, why waste your time?" The second shadow asked, stepping forward into the light. He was almost shark-like in appearance, and had a lean, hungry look to him. Sasuke backed away.  
  
"W.. who are you..??" He demanded, still staring up at the first shadow. It moved foward, and Sasuke scooted back even further. Sakura rushed forward.  
  
"Don't touch him!" She shouted, but the fear in her voice was evident as she looked into the familiar face. Pale skin, framed by long strands of dark ebony hair. Red eyes outlined with long eyelashes.. seemingly delicate, if it weren't for his icy stare. He said nothing, only kept moving forward towards the small child in front of him.  
  
"Sasuke." He said, quietly. "What.. happened to you?"  
  
Sasuke stood up, staring at him right in the eye.  
  
"You have Sharingan.." He whispered. "..but.. how?"  
  
Itachi's gaze suddenly narrowed dangerously, and he turned to glare at Sakura.  
  
"What happened to him?! What did you do?!" He demanded. She flinched back. Kisame stared at Itachi.. he hadn't ever seen him get angry like that. Ever. What was going on?  
  
"Itachi.." He began, but was silenced by a wave of the man's hand.  
  
"Be _quiet_, Kisame." He snapped. Kisame jerked back. What was with him? He was never like this.. he never gave a damn about Sasuke, as far as he'd seen. Of course.. he'd never seen that look in Itachi's eyes, either. It hadn't ever been anything but a cold, icy stare. Itachi's glare was boring into the Haruno woman.  
  
"Answer me, damn you." He said. Sakura was shaking, her eyes were wide with fear, but a kunai was clutched in her hand defensively as she moved to step in front of her child.  
  
"He was almost killed, along with Naruto." She said, her kunai held up to her chest, her will steeling as her eyes narrowed. She'd fight if she had to. "Hokage-sama found a way to give them a second chance at life.. which meant they had to be reborn all over again. You won't take Sasuke.. I'll die for him, if I have to." She added. Itachi stared at her. Kisame turned to run in the direction Naruto had gone. Itachi's hand snapped out and gripped his shoulder.  
  
"Stop." He said, his voice practically a growl. Kisame shouted in pain, and as Itachi released him, he fell down to a knee, clutching his shoulder.  
  
"You bastard, Itachi! What the fuck is wrong with you??" He snapped, glowering. "We've been trying to capture that damn fox for ages! Why the hell are you stopping me?!"  
  
"Be silent." Itachi answered. He knelt down.. his Sharingan vanished. Kisame's eyes widened. Itachi never did that.. not unless he was so tired from using them he could barely move. He could only stare as Itachi watched the young child as he hid behind Sakura.  
  
_The same age.. he's the same age as he was.. back then, when I.._  
__   
A pained look suddenly crossed Itachi's face.  
  
_But.. he doesn't remember._  
  
Sasuke clutched Sakura's leg, watching Itachi's face from around it. Suddenly, he let go of her and stepped foward, toward Itachi. Sakura jerked in surprise.  
  
"S.. Sasuke! Don't!" She cried, but Sasuke ignored her and kept moving forward until he was directly in front of Itachi. The tension in the air was so tight, everyone could feel it was about to snap at any second. Kisame found himself immobile, unable to tear his eyes away. Sakura was still shaking as she watched the young boy.  
  
Sasuke reached up, touching Itachi's face.  
  
"You have lonely eyes." He said, softly. Itachi jerked back.  
  
"What..?"  
  
"Your eyes." Sasuke repeated, quietly. "They're so sad. Why..?"  
  
Kisame and Sakura could only watch as Itachi stared at the small child before him. Sasuke watched him expectantly, waiting for an answer. Itachi suddenly found himself unable to look the boy in the face, and stared at the ground.  
  
"..because now I've really lost everything I had." He answered, finally. Sasuke watched him for a second, and then stepped forward, wrapping his arms around the man's neck. Itachi's eyes widened.. he couldn't move. Sasuke would have never done something like this.. this couldn't be his little brother. Thoughts raced through Itachi's mind, vanishing as the boy spoke again.  
  
"No one should be that lonely."  
  
Itachi looked into Sasuke's face. The boy wasn't kidding around with him.. it was in pure honesty that those words were spoken, and for the first time in many years, Itachi felt something wrench in his chest. The ice he had worked so hard to cover his heart in was shattering, melting away. He reached out and wrapped Sasuke into his arms, holding him tightly.  
  
"..I never really understood you, Sasuke." He murmured quietly, and then stood up, turning to face Kisame.  
  
"I'm quitting Akatsuki."  
  
"WHAT?!" Kisame shouted, his beady eyes going wide as he stared at Itachi in utter disbelief. "What the fuck are you talking about?! You can't quit! You're speaking blasphemy, Itachi, this must be some illusion or something!" He glared. "They're messing with your head! You never gave a shit about that brat!" He pointed to Sasuke, who watched with wide eyes. Kisame let out a snarl and reached behind him, grabbing his weapon.  
  
"I'll show you, Itachi!" He shouted, and whipped the huge sword in front of him. Itachi nudged Sasuke behind him.  
  
"Take him and go." He said, addressing Sakura. "I'll catch up in a minute.. make sure Naruto stays in your sight." He ordered. He suddenly turned and scooped both Sakura and Sasuke into his arms, leaping over Kisame and letting them get down the street toward the park where Naruto was waiting, then turned to face his old partner, Sharingan blazing back into view.  
  
"I won't let you touch a hair on him, Kisame. Now come!"  
  
----**To Be Continued...**  
****   
Uhh.. yeah. :) I drew pictures of Kazue and Takeshi.. will get them scanned eventually. xD  
  
--TAB  



	4. Memories Reappearing? Sasuke's Dream!

  
**Kaerizaki**   
**By The Ambitious Blank**   
****   
**Disclaimer- **Naruto doesn't belong to me.   
**Comments**- Thanks again for all the encouragement, everyone. n.n I love you guys. As for Itachi, umm.. well, I think the sudden change came about from sixteen years of having to live with what he's done, and then suddenly seeing Sasuke, and having the one person left who reminds him of who he used to be torn away from him would hurt. Again, your questions simply lead to a lot of maybes. n.n You'll find answers to 'em, don't worry. Lina-san, shakiya-san, I hope that takes care of your troubles from Itachi switching so quickly.   
  
To everyone who might be getting sick of the endless fluff.. don't worry, the trauma will come soon. Yay! ;  
  
Oh, and for those who wanted to see what Kazue and Takeshi look like, check my deviantart account. My username is "DarkenedWings". If you want a link to it, I'm sticking it in my profile. n.n; Mycom --Those are them in their twelve-year-old forms. Those were done completely in Photoshop, so.. ignore the crappiness, please. n.n;;; I know I suck.   
  
I renamed the chapters, 'cause I got sick of trying to think of one-word titles for them. So they're named kinda like Naruto episodes.   
  
---**Chapter 4- Memories Resurfacing? Sasuke's Dream!**   
****   
Sakura lifted Sasuke into her arms and carried him as she ran, towards the park where she could meet up with the four children. She pushed past Shikamaru, who was walking down the street. The poor Nara man almost fell over in surprise.   
  
"Hey, hey, where's the fire..?" He asked, blinking and rubbing his head, watching Sakura run away.   
  
"Man, haven't seen her run that fast in.. um.. ever." He muttered, glancing back to where she was running from, to see what was going on. He could hear crashes and shouts from the alleyway, and stood up to go investigate.   
  
Sakura, meanwhile, had reached the park and found Naruto, who was playing with two other children she didn't recognized.   
  
_Kazue and Takeshi.._ She mused, glancing to each of them as she set Sasuke down. Naruto turned, grinning.   
  
"Wow, Sasuke, you sure are slow today--" He blinked, staring. "Ne, Sasuke.. what's wrong??"   
  
Sasuke was quiet.. something about Itachi had jarred something in him, but he couldn't place what. He tugged on Sakura's clothing.   
  
"Sakura.. I thought only the Uchiha clan had Sharingan." He said, his big eyes wide and confused. "How come he had them?" He glanced behind them. "..who is he..? He looked like me, too."   
  
Sakura hesitated. She'd met Itachi, once, during a fight Sasuke had with him a long time ago. As far as she knew, Sasuke had lost every fight he'd had with his older brother, but with increasingly less humiliation as each fight happened. Itachi had beaten Sasuke to the point of where the younger Uchiha hadn't been able to move, and then he'd discovered Sakura's hiding place. Luckily, Naruto had gone off to do something, and when a few of the Jounins happened by, Itachi was forced to flee.   
  
But now.. it didn't make any sense. He'd looked so startled, and Sakura hadn't seen the man's expression change when she'd last met him. He hadn't so much as twitched as he beat Sasuke into the dirt. She looked down at the little one still tugging on her clothes, staring into his wide, fearful eyes. She knelt down, patting his head.   
  
"It'll be okay, Sasuke. You'll see." She said, as reassuringly as she could. Sasuke nodded, looking back toward the alleyway. A shout suddenly reached their ears, and all of them winced.   
  
"What.. what was that..?!" Takeshi cried, staring. Shiromaru growled, and Kazue put a hand on his head.   
  
"Shh, Shiromaru, I know. I can smell it too. There's some sort of fight.. but I think.. it's over now." She said, biting her lip. Naruto moved closer to Sasuke, slipping his hand into the dark-haired boy's. They waited, the tension stretched so tightly in the air, they could feel it ready to snap in a matter of moments. Suddenly, from around the corner, Shikamaru came, supporting a larger form on his shoulder.. Itachi. As they came close, Shikamaru carefully laid Itachi onto the grass. Itachi had a bad wound in his side, but he was still breathing. Sasuke yelped and broke away from Sakura and Naruto, dropping onto his knees in front of the man.   
  
"What happened..?!" He cried, staring at the wound, then at Itachi's face. The Sharingan had vanished again. Itachi reached up and touched Sasuke's face, then glanced to Sakura.   
  
"Kisame almost had me. I guess.. seeing Sasuke like this made me hesitate. Lucky for me.. this guy showed up." He gestured to Shikamaru. "Used his Kage Mane no Jutsu to trap him while I used my Sharingan and killed him." He slowly sat up, wincing.   
  
"It's not safe for me to be here right now. No doubt Akatsuki will be after me for betraying them like this. Once Kisame and I don't return for a while, they'll start hunting me." He clutched his side, gritting his teeth. "I should go."   
  
"Wait!" Sakura said, unable to control herself. Ever since she'd had Naruto, she'd had strange, protective instincts for him, as well as Sasuke. Sure, she had before, but this time, it was different. It was for a different reason than just being their friend, and somehow that made her instinct stronger. She reached out and gently pushed Itachi back into the grass.   
  
"They won't know you're gone for a few weeks. You can stay with us and let that wound heal. At least for this week, alright? If you get yourself killed, then I'll regret it.. and Sasuke will be upset. I don't think that's what you want right now." She said.   
  
It made no sense to her, why she was inviting _Itachi_ of all people into her home. This could be a trick.. Kisame could have just been some pawn, right? But that same strange instinct of hers was telling her it was alright, that Itachi wouldn't try anything. That strange light in his eyes.. and he'd retracted his Sharingan, even! This couldn't be a trick. Itachi stared up at her for a few moments, watching all the emotions playing out on her face.   
  
"..you think this might be a trap." He said. Sakura shook her head in furious denial.   
  
"No. I did, but I don't anymore." She smiled, then turned to the group of children. "Naruto? Will you please take Kazue and Takeshi to our house and get the first aid kit? I can't leave you guys alone with Itachi, he's still wanted.. at least until I speak with Hokage."   
  
"Uh, right!" Naruto said, nodding. He gestured to his two new friends and the four (if you count Shiromaru) dashed off in the direction of Sakura's apartment. Sasuke sat down in the grass next to Itachi, watching him silently. Itachi shifted a little to look at the small boy.   
  
_He's exactly the same.. exactly the same as he used to be. Except.. happier, I guess._ Itachi smiled a bit. _..maybe it's 'cause Father isn't around to harry him anymore._   
__   
Itachi winced slightly of the thought of their father. Sighing to himself, he reached out and touched Sasuke's face again. Sasuke blinked.   
  
"Don't look so sad, Sasuke. Doesn't do much for you." Itachi said, brushing a few strands of hair from Sasuke's face. Sasuke blinked and rubbed at his eyes furiously.   
  
"What's your name, anyway..?" He asked, blinking down at the older man. Itachi shifted his gaze away.   
  
_"What's my name?" A few years ago, you wouldn't have ever forgotten my face.. let alone my name, Sasuke. _He thought, almost bitterly. _..no, I think that even if you had managed to kill me back then, you would have suffered for the rest of your life. Because even with my dead body lying in front of you, you wouldn't have been able to forgive me. _   
  
Itachi struggled to sit up, earning a worried frown from Sakura and Sasuke, and a shove from Shikamaru.   
  
"Lie down, idiot." Shikamaru said, angrily. "You'll hurt yourself even more. And as much as I'd like to see that after the things you've done to Sasuke, he doesn't rememb--"   
  
_Smack._   
  
Sakura had struck him over the head, a fearful look in her eyes. Shikamaru growled in frustration but closed his mouth, and rubbed at the forming bruise irritatedly. Itachi's gaze widened slightly.   
  
_Why-- ..oh, I see.. they don't want Sasuke to remember._   
__   
His eyes shifted back to the confused little boy sitting near him. Sasuke, deciding to ignore the antics of the strange adults he didn't understand, moved closer to Itachi and gently pushed him back down to the ground.   
  
"I dunno what Shikamaru was talking about, but you should lie down anyway." He said, frowning and chewing on his lip cutely. "You could hurt yourself more."   
  
Itachi gave the smallest of smiles, the first in ages, and let the child push him back down into the grass.   
  
_Sasuke.. if you had killed me, I'd be afraid of what would happen to the people you called friends then.. maybe not even friends, so much as mere acquaintances. You.. might have hurt them.. purposefully._   
__   
The small smile disappeared, turning into a concerned frown.   
  
_..you might have become me._   
__   
Utterly oblivious of Itachi's troubled thoughts, Sasuke plopped back down in the grass and waited. Naruto and the others returned, and Sakura bandaged Itachi up, then helped him slowly back to his feet, supporting him carefully on her shoulder.   
  
"Alright, I'll bring you back to my apartment, and then I'll have to go talk to Hokage-sama."  
  
"Please, allow me to escort them, Sakura."   
  
Everyone turned around.. Kakashi stood there, one hand on his hip, his book in the other. Itachi flinched, shifting and turning his gaze away.   
  
_I don't need a lecture from you, Kakashi.._   
__   
"Oh, Kakashi-sensei! Didn't see you there." Sakura said, smiling. "If you wouldn't mind.. I should talk to Hokage-sama myself, since I'll be the one taking him in for a while." She reached up and handed him the key to the apartment, then stood and started away down the road.   
  
"I'll go with her." Shikamaru said, standing up from the grass and following after.  
  
Kakashi nodded, carefully supporting Itachi on his shoulder, slinging the Uchiha's arm around him. He scooped Naruto up in his free hand, earning a happy giggle from the blonde. Sasuke reached up and took Itachi's free hand, smiling a little. Kazue and Takeshi trotted after them as they began down the street, with Shiromaru on their heels. Itachi held his breath, waiting for when Kakashi would begin on whatever lecture he was sure the man was planning. But the silver-haired Jounin said nothing, only kept on. Sasuke's smaller hand gripped Itachi's tightly as they walked along.   
  
"Whee! Kakashi-sensei, can't we go fasssttteeerrrr?" Naruto whined, oblivious to the seriousness of the situation as usual. Kakashi couldn't help but smile.   
  
"Well, we would, but we have an injured person here.. wouldn't want him hurting himself more. Or dragging Sasuke along, either."   
  
"Aww, but Sasuke's fast enough to keep up."   
  
"Shh, Naruto!" Sasuke said, looking up at his friend with a frown, still clutching tightly to Itachi's hand. "Let's just go back, okay?"   
  
"Um, okay.." Naruto said, blinking his large blue eyes in confusion. Kakashi smiled under his mask. Sasuke certainly was much less of an.. well.. ass.. when he was smaller. Of course, back then, none of them would have even fathomed Sasuke showing concern for his older brother. Things really had changed quite a bit, in some ways. Sure.. the blatant gap between Naruto and Sasuke's initial abilities was still there, but Kakashi was sure Naruto could close that gap.   
  
Sakura had made sure to tell Naruto about the Kyuubi within him from the beginning. Told him again and again it wasn't a bad thing, and since most of the villagers had come to respect him in his previous life, it wasn't a problem anymore.   
  
Kakashi himself had been training the two of them whenever he had free time (it wasn't often, but it was enough), and had been working on drawing out Sasuke's Sharingan ability early. The child almost had it, even at his age. As for Naruto, the boy hadn't quite learned how to rely on the Kyuubi's chakra just yet, but Kakashi wasn't worried. It would come out when it was needed. For now, he just worked on Naruto's control of his own chakra.   
  
Kakashi's visible eye shifted to the man he had slung over his shoulder. Itachi had his gaze on the ground, avoiding everyone else's looks, even little Sasuke's. Kakashi gave a quiet sigh as he lead the small group up the stairs toward Sakura's apartment. Luckily, they hadn't met anyone on the way there, so there were no explainations that had to be made.. yet.   
  
Itachi was laid carefully on the couch with help from Sasuke, who then moved to the kitchen. He pulled out a small stepstool from a cupboard and stood on it, pulling down several teacups from the cabinet and beginning to heat up some water for tea. Kakashi smiled.   
  
_Well, he certainly isn't any less capable, that's for sure.._   
__   
Naruto, Kazue, Takeshi, and Shiromaru sat down on the floor. Shiromaru let them use him as a support to lean against, an offer which the exhausted children eagerly took. Sasuke kept working in the kitchen, ignoring how tired he was from the entire day. Kakashi watched the young Uchiha as he ran about.   
  
"Sasuke, would you like some help?"   
  
"No, I got it!" Sasuke said, shaking his head. Kakashi's smile reappeared.   
  
_..and he's still just as stubborn as he used to be, it seems._   
  
Sasuke was sliding the stepstool around the kitchen, pulling out things he'd need.. teabags, some spoons, sugar. The teakettle whistled, and the small boy quickly moved to remove it from the stove, making sure to be as careful as he could. After he'd made a cup, he climbed back down off his small stepstool and began walking toward the living room where everyone was sitting.. and didn't remember to sidestep a tiny pool of water he'd spilt on the floor.. when he realized it was there, it was too late.. with a yelp of surprise, he slipped and started to fall.   
  
It happened in less than a second. Itachi's eyes widened and he vanished from the couch, capturing the falling child with one arm and gripping the teacup in his other, ignoring the trickle of blood that escaped from his bandages from the quick movement. Kakashi had moved to save the child as well, but had only made it a step toward Sasuke in the time it had taken Itachi to reach him.   
  
There was a long moment of dead silence. Naruto, Kazue, and Takeshi were all staring in shock. Naruto was slackjawed, having been unable to follow Itachi's lightning fast movement. Kakashi was surprised as well.. he knew Itachi moved fast, but normally he was able to follow the movement.. this time, he hadn't been able to at all.   
  
"Are you alright, Sasuke..?" Itachi asked, finally. Sasuke hadn't so much as breathed in the time it had taken all that to happen. He took an abrupt gasp and slumped against Itachi's arm.   
  
"Y.. yeah, I'm okay.." He said, standing. "I guess that cup's for you, then.. you want any sugar or anything?" He managed a small smile, but he was still shaky on his feet. Itachi shook his head.   
  
"No thanks.. but thank you for this." He held up the cup a little, and Sasuke nodded and ran back to make more. Kakashi moved to help him this time, and Itachi slowly made his way back over to the couch, sitting down and trying to ignore the stabbing pain in his side.   
  
Naruto noticed the blood and whispered hurriedly to his new friends, and they all scrambled to their feet, running to get the first aid kit, where it had been abandoned near the front door.   
  
Itachi sipped his tea slowly, and then frowned, blinking.   
  
"Sasuke..?"   
  
"Yeah?" The boy looked up from the counter. He was standing on his tiptoes on the stepstool, pouring tea into a cup.   
  
"..what did you put in the tea?"   
  
"Umm.. just the teabag and.. umm.. two and a half spoonfuls of sugar." He answered, frowning. "Why?"   
  
Itachi's eyes narrowed.   
  
"How did you know?"   
  
"Know what?"   
  
"To put sugar into it.. and exactly what amount I liked..?"   
  
Kakashi looked up suddenly. Sasuke blinked, putting a hand to his head and then looking at Itachi again.   
  
"I.. I don't know.." He said. "I just.. did it without thinking.."   
  
Naruto and the others were silent. Itachi exchanged glances with Kakashi, lips set in a grim line.   
  
_He remembers. Before I killed everyone.. when he and I were inseperable.. he used to make tea for the family sometimes, and I'd always ask for two and a half spoonfuls of sugar in mine.. he remembers that. He just doesn't know that he remembers. It's all unconsciously done.._   
__   
Itachi stared at his younger brother, who was obviously thinking very hard about it. Kakashi spoke first, breaking the tense silence.   
  
"Sasuke, why don't you help Naruto and the others put fresh bandages on Itachi, and I'll finish making the tea." He offered. Sasuke nodded and climbed down from the stepstool and put it away in the cupboard, hurrying over to where Naruto, Takeshi, and Kazue were kneeling on the floor, having opened the medical kit. Shiromaru had curled up near the couch where Itachi was sitting, keeping watch with bright blue eyes.   
  
Sasuke picked up a roll of bandages and stepped toward Itachi, who shed off the cloud jacket. (Sakura had already stripped him of his shirt when she'd bandaged him up originally, it was lying on the ground near the door, forgotten.) The small Uchiha reached up with a shaking hand and carefully peeled away the stained and soaked bandages, frowning.   
  
"This wound.. it's so bad.." He said, concerned. Itachi shrugged.   
  
"This? It's nothing compared to things I've gotten before."   
  
"But you don't get these kinds of wounds often, do you..?" Sasuke asked, looking up at Itachi. "I can feel it. You've got a lot more power than you look like you have."   
  
Itachi stared for a moment, then sighed and patted Sasuke's head.   
  
"Yeah, maybe."   
  
With a slight amount of difficulty, and Takeshi and Naruto getting tangled in the bandages a few times, they managed to do a pretty good job of replacing Itachi's bandaging. The older Uchiha thanked them when they finished.   
  
Naruto escorted Kazue (with Shiromaru) and Takeshi home (and said hello to Kiba, Hinata, and Neji at their respective homes), then ran back. When he returned, Sasuke was asleep, half on Itachi's lap. Naruto climbed up on the couch, stretched, and fell asleep with him.   
  
Kakashi watched in silence, sitting down in a chair. Itachi sighed, running his fingers through Sasuke's soft hair. The young boy murmured incoherently under his breath as he slept, snuggling closer.   
  
"It's so strange that he doesn't remember anything." Itachi said, as he glanced up to Kakashi. "I take it that took some getting used to."   
  
Kakashi shrugged.   
  
"I suppose." He smirked a bit. "You know, considering everything that's happened between you, myself, Sasuke, and this village.. I should just kill you now."   
  
"..." Itachi stared at the ground. Kakashi chuckled a bit.   
  
"However, since Sasuke seems to tolerate you, I guess I'll let it slide for now. Can't argue with an eight-year-old, after all." His gaze shifted to the sleeping child, and Itachi looked down, the smallest of smiles appearing on his face.   
  
"No.. no, I suppose not."   
  
----   
  
"I'm home!" Sakura called out a soft greeting as she opened the door to her apartment, removing her shoes at the door. The two men glanced up. Itachi was careful not to move to quickly for fear of disturbing the sleeping pair. Sakura wandered over to the couch and looked down, smiling at the sight.   
  
"So they finally wore themselves out, did they?" She asked, smiling. "Let me take them to Naruto's room to sleep, and then we'll talk." She carefully lifted them into her arms and carried them off down the hallway, tucking them in and placing a light kiss on each of their foreheads. Sasuke immediately snuggled against Naruto, shivering lightly. Sakura smiled and went back down the hall.   
  
"So what did Hokage-sama say?" Kakashi asked. Sakura sighed and sat down.   
  
"She said.. it's troublesome, but we can keep him here. However, you'll have to remain in the apartment until the public is alright with seeing you out and around here." She said, biting her lip. "I'm sorry.. but, you are allowed to stay, and you won't be considered an S-Rank criminal anymore. However, your repentance.. you are to give us all information you can about Akatsuki."   
  
Itachi was silent for a long time.   
  
"I shouldn't stay here. I could be endangering you all--" He began, but Sakura shushed him with a wave of her hand.   
  
"I'll leave it up to you to protect us then. But Sasuke would be heartbroken to see you go, as strange as that seems." She said, her green eyes serious. "You have to give us the information, however.. it's a requirement for you being allowed to stay and no longer being a wanted criminal. Hokage-sama will slowly release the information of your whereabouts to the public, and you should be able to become a villager again in time. For now, Itachi-san, please stay."   
  
_Itachi.. san?_   
__   
The man stared at her for a long time, and opened his mouth to answer.. when a strangled cry erupted from the other room. All three adults were on their feet in an instant.. Sasuke came running into the room, halting as soon as he caught sight of Itachi.. and he fell back, shrinking away.   
  
"You.. you!!" He cried, pointing. "You killed everyone.. my family.. you killed everyone!! Why?!" He demanded, hysterical. Itachi stared, his eyes going wide, and he heard a gasp of shock from Sakura, and noticed Kakashi flinch in surprise.   
  
Sakura moved to reach her child, holding Sasuke tightly.   
  
"Shh, Sasuke.. shh, you don't know what you were talking about.. I'm right here. It was just a dream.." She whispered. Sasuke was shaking so_ badly.._   
  
"He.. I swear.. I felt like.. I knew him really well, and then.. then he killed everyone, and I came back from training and everyone was dead.. why?!" Sasuke sobbed, tears flowing freely from his eyes. Naruto had appeared in the hallway and was watching with wide blue eyes. Kakashi moved to talk to him.   
  
Itachi could only watch in painful silence.   
  
---**To Be Continued...**   
  
Ahhh.. I'm so sorry about being SO damn slow about updating this. I have tons of excuses, but you probably don't care about any of them.. but I swear, I'll try my best to update sooner than this next time! Gomen nasai-!   
  
--TAB 


	5. Charge Through the Problems! A Sense of...

**Kaerizaki**

**By The Ambitious Blank**

**Disclaimer**- Guess what goes here! Go on, guess! No? Okay. Yeah. Naruto still isn't mine.

---**Chapter 5- Charge Through the Problems! A Sense of Normality Returns?**

"You.. you killed them..!" Sasuke sobbed as Sakura reached out to hold him. He stared at Itachi, his big, dark eyes filled with tears.

"Why'd you kill them? They didn't.. I thought.." He choked out, finally giving up on words and burying his face into Sakura's shoulder as she lifted him up.

"Sasuke-kun, calm down.. it was just a nightmare, it didn't mean anything. Shh.. stop crying.."

Itachi lowered his eyes, glancing away from the scene. Kakashi moved to usher Naruto, who had stuck his head in to look, back to the bedroom. Naruto pushed past him and ran over to his mother.

"'kaasan.." He whined, plaintively. "What's wrong with Sasuke..?"

Sakura just shook her head down at him, still trying to calm the dark-haired boy down. Sasuke had stopped crying, but was sniffling and shaking. Kakashi stepped over to Itachi next. Itachi glanced to him.

"Does he remember everything, do you think?" He asked, softly. Kakashi shook his head.

"No. To him.. that was just a dream. Granted, it must've been a realistic one.. However, I think he's too young to realize what it really is. This concerns me, though. I'm worried they'll start remembering things as they grow older. For a while, it's easy to just shove it away as some random occurrence, a simple dream.. but as they get older, it's going to be harder and harder to just ignore. But, I wouldn't worry about it for right now. I think Sasuke might be a little distraught for a while, but he's still a child. He'll be alright."

Itachi nodded doubtfully, glancing back to his little brother, who had managed to calm himself down. Sakura set him back down, and Naruto moved and hugged him tightly. Itachi felt a twinge in his chest and turned away again. What was he doing here? He didn't have a place in such a close-knit family. He'd betrayed Sasuke, waiting for the day when the boy would return and kill him.

What place did he have here?

As he turned to start his way over toward the door, he was stopped by a small tug on his pant leg. Turning, he looked down.. Sasuke was standing there, his hand fisted in the cloth of Itachi's pants. Itachi turned around fully, kneeling down in front of the young boy. Sasuke stared at him, and then reached out and touched his face.

"..you still have sad eyes," he said, quietly. "I'm sorry.. for saying those things." He said, looking earnestly into Itachi's eyes. The older Uchiha blinked, once, as Sasuke pulled lightly, dragging Itachi into a gentle hug. It felt so alien, these simple gestures of caring.. not only because they were awkward for Itachi himself, but because they came from Sasuke, willingly.

"I didn't mean it," Sasuke added, still in that quiet tone of his. "It.. it was just a dream.. I shouldn't have been so angry. I just.. it felt like it was real. You have those kinds of dreams, don't you?" He asked.

He was so innocent.. those large black eyes were nothing compared to Sasuke's old ones, back when he was twelve. That old gaze of his had been filled with such burning hatred and determination.. and it was obvious, with one gaze into those old eyes, that Sasuke had seen things that no other child should have seen by then in their lifetimes. Or at all, ever, for that matter. It was such a drastic change from what he'd used to be. Itachi closed his eyes and put a hand to his chest. He hadn't thought he still had a heart left.. but the way Sasuke was looking at him uncovered what remained. It wasn't much, but maybe it could be fixed..

Sasuke's smaller hand reached out and touched Itachi's.

"Does something hurt?" He asked, looking concerned. Itachi shook his head, opening his eyes and reaching out, patting Sasuke's head.

"No. Not anymore." He said, and smiled.

---

Sakura spoke with Ino the next morning. It looked like Itachi would be staying for a while, and they both felt that Sasuke needed to know that Itachi was his brother. They'd decided that the young Uchiha had probably already guessed.. and so, simultaneously, they began forming a story about Itachi being Sasuke's long-lost brother, and that Sasuke was adopted. It seemed awfully farfetched, but it made so much sense.. it would explain Ino having different abilities than Sasuke, Itachi being so much older than both of them, and for the most part, at least, in Sasuke's mind, it would explain why they looked so different, and why Sasuke had no father to speak of. Sakura decided that they should tell Naruto that he was adopted as well, so Sasuke wouldn't feel so alone. And, it would also explain the differences between Naruto and Sakura, as well.

So, it was decided. Lucky for them, this had happened while they were still young.. and the two mothers figured that if they told their children early on, it wouldn't be so bad for them later. The two boys had the reactions they'd expected.. they accepted it, and were easily prepared to just move on, to the relief of the two women. They both seemed to understand what that meant, and Sasuke seemed excited. He had an older brother!

The two girls went around and told everyone else what they had told the two boys, and everyone had agreed to go with it. Nothing really changed.. the boys continued to go to the Academy, being taught by Iruka, getting into trouble every so often with Kazue and Takeshi.

Life was about as normal as it could get.

---

A few months later, the Hokage re-introduced Itachi to the village, relieving Sakura of her duties of keeping him a secret. Quite a few were skeptical, but eventually, after a few weeks, they accepted him. Itachi trained to become a Jounin of the village, which was quickly agreed to. He was a massive help on missions, which helped the people and the shinobi of the village to accept him more quickly. Whenever he wasn't away on a mission, he would take Sasuke and Naruto off to the training grounds to help them practice their skills as they learned them.

As expected, Sasuke quickly picked up the techniques. Naruto was slightly slower in learning, but with Itachi and Sasuke's help, and his own steel-willed determination, he never fell too far behind. Itachi was starting to readjust to a normal life. So far, the leader of Akatsuki hadn't sent anyone after him, but the older Uchiha was always wary, just in case.

But, still, months and months passed, and nothing happened. Rumors flew about that Akatsuki had disbanded, now that it had lost one of its strongest members. Itachi doubted it, but he went with that explanation for the time being.

Naruto and Sasuke were growing beautifully. Both now ten years old, their skills were nearly even, despite the fact that neither of them would admit to the other one how good they were. Still, things were like how they used to be. Sasuke pushed Naruto to do better, and Naruto did the same for Sasuke in turn. Were it not for such a change in their personalities, things almost seemed the same.

The most drastic change was the fact that they remained best friends, even through their rivalries with each other. It was as though they couldn't be separated.. one of them was rarely seen without the other. Despite how different they were, they continued to keep at each other's sides, and even though they exchanged rude comments with each other, it was obvious that it was all in play. They would insult each other and then they would laugh.. Naruto much more loudly than Sasuke, but the Uchiha boy would laugh nonetheless.

It disturbed Sakura, Ino, and the rest in a way. It was so strange seeing them so attached to one another, especially considering what it had been like before.

Before..

It seemed odd, thinking about before. Before was when Naruto and Sasuke were bitter rivals, willing to split paths, refusing to acknowledge one another as a fellow shinobi. And now, even despite their playful rivalry they held, they were the best of friends. Sasuke was still a bit more distant, but it was a huge change from what he'd been before. That cold, lonely boy..

Ino watched on, remembering him as he used to be. The cold gaze, the icy tone, the whole aura of "don't touch me".. it was almost as though Sasuke were a completely different person. She remembered how she and Sakura had almost ceased being friends because of the huge crushes they both held on him.

But now that he was her son..

It all seemed wrong, somehow. That crush was something of the past, and she and Sakura had realized they hadn't stood a chance, after all. Those times were over, and she was glad to have Sakura standing with her again.

Sakura remembered the days when she used to hate Naruto. Not only because of the Kyuubi sealed within his body, but also because of the great jealousy she had felt for him. Only Naruto was able to keep up with Sasuke, even if just barely. Only Naruto gained so much as a glance from the cold-hearted boy Sasuke used to be. Only Naruto could get a rise out of him, and only Naruto could make him smile, even if just a little bit.

Sakura had always been jealous of that.

It hadn't been until both boys had been lying upon their presumed deathbeds that Sakura had finally realized that. Her hatred of Naruto stopped spawning from what her parents and the villagers told her, and eventually grew into jealousy. But, she _had_ warmed up to him later. Naruto had a stout, good heart within him, and it didn't take long for someone to see that, even through the loud, obnoxious exterior.

She realized she was still jealous of Naruto now. Not for spending time with Sasuke, but for being able to forget all those times of the past, when there had been so much animosity, so much pain..

They'd been forced to grow up so fast back then. Sakura was jealous of both Sasuke and Naruto for getting that second chance at starting over.

It wasn't so easy for the rest of them to forget.

She glanced to Itachi, who was sitting against a tree, reading a scroll as he, Ino, and Sakura watched the two boys, plus Takeshi, Kazue, and Shiromaru tumble around in the falling cherry blossom petals.

"It's such a beautiful day, don't you think, Ino?" Sakura asked, looking up at the pale pink trees. The petals fell like a delicate snow, coating the ground with their beauty. Ino reached down and scooped up a handful of them, letting them flutter away in the breeze.

"Yeah." She said, dreamily. Itachi glanced up from his scroll, watching the four children and the puppy as they raced around the park area. Takeshi tripped and toppled down into a pile of the petals, scattering them everywhere. All of them had the pink flowers stuck in their hair and on their clothes. Shiromaru barked joyfully and raced about through the trees, chasing Sasuke, who was using everything he'd learned during training to evade the puppy. Shiromaru lost interest suddenly, whirling to chase after Naruto instead, grabbing his pants leg playfully and pulling him down into another pile of the blossoms. Naruto yelped and reached out, grabbing Takeshi by the ankle as the Hyuuga ran past and yanking him down with him. Takeshi, in turn, managed to catch Sasuke, just as Shiromaru dragged Kazue down too.

The five of them rolled around in the foliage, and Naruto picked up a clump of the petals and hurled them at Itachi. Itachi blinked, looking up just as they hit him in the face, sticking in his hair, on his clothes, and the scroll. He blinked once, a motion that would have seemed more comical were it not for his constantly-serious expression, and frowned.

"Naruto!" Sakura scolded from the sidelines, though from her tone, anyone could tell she wasn't being serious. Naruto grinned sheepishly, and Sasuke jumped up and started helping Itachi pull away all the petals. Itachi had that sort of half-smile on his face, the one that no one else could really copy. Sasuke giggled a little as he pulled a petal from directly in the center of Itachi's forehead.

"Aniki, you're supposed to be a great ninja. How can you let Naruto get you with such easy tricks?" He asked, smiling brightly. The older Uchiha gave a soft chuckle and patted Sasuke on the head.

"Dunno. But he's about to get you too, so." He pointed out, as a clump of petals hit Sasuke directly in the back of the head. Sasuke whirled around with a playful growl and picked up a handful of the pink flowers, tossing them back at the Uzumaki, and soon it was an all-out war between the children as they threw them at each other. It rained more of the petals from the sky, and they danced around in them, playing their imaginary games with legendary ninjas, Anbu missions, great warriors and fierce foes.

It was so eerily similar to what their lives had been just before they'd been reborn. Sakura and Ino had noticed that, and struggled to ignore it to the best of their ability. It was just coincidence.. but still, it seemed so wrong, somehow. Ino had been scared ever since Sakura had told her about Sasuke's dream he'd had two years ago. But nothing of the sort had happened since then, and Sasuke and Naruto remained blissfully ignorant of their previous lives.

"Oiiii! Sakura, Ino!" Called a familiar voice. The two women turned around, and they smiled upon seeing who it was. Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon all stood on the path next to the park. Konohamaru had his hand raised in greeting. He'd grown up so much from the small, somewhat annoying kid they'd known before, and was aspiring to become a great ninja. He was hoping to take the name of Hokage next after Tsunade, if she was unable to continue ruling before Naruto was old enough to take the name.. almost everyone supported the idea of Konohamaru as Hokage, considering he already knew what to do for most of it, considering his grandfather had been the Third.

"Konohamaru!" Naruto cried, jumping up from the tangle of arms and legs that the four children had become, and he went running over and jumped into Konohamaru's arms.

"Naruto!" Konohamaru returned, with a huge grin. "Nice to see you."

They laughed and immediately started chattering with each other. Sakura smiled, watching them. It'd been hard for Konohamaru to let go of his habit of calling Naruto "Naruto-niichan", but he'd managed to break it, for the sake of letting Naruto keep his second chance. Occasionally, he still slipped up, but he would brush it off as a joke and the two of them would laugh as though it hadn't meant anything. But afterward, Konohamaru would hold this sort of sad look in his eyes, which would disappear quickly after his two friends comforted him. Even now, when they were so much older, they were inseparable, and still went by the title of the Konohamaru Corps. Of course, by now, they'd gotten much better at their disguising techniques.. the old rectangle box labeled "rock" had been stowed away in Konohamaru's closet long ago, more for sentimental value than anything else.

But, even now, Konohamaru and Naruto still shared almost the exact same grin.

"Do you have time to play today, Konohamaru?" Naruto asked excitedly, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.

"Wellllll.." Konohamaru mused, crossing his arms thoughtfully. He turned to Udon and Moegi. "What do you two think?"

"I dunnoooo, Konohamaru-kun.." Moegi said, playing along with a wink in his direction, "I think we're busy today.."

"Awwh!" Naruto whined plaintively. Konohamaru smiled.

"I guess we can take some time off, though." He said, laughing. Naruto let out a whoop of victory and grabbed Konohamaru's hand and dragged him toward the trees. Sasuke and the others had stood up from the pile of petals and were trying to pull some of the pink blossoms from their hair and clothes.

"Aniki.." Sasuke said, moving toward Itachi, "You still have lots caught in your hair, too." He pointed to several caught in Itachi's ponytail. The older man frowned, trying to pull some of them out.

"Take your hair down and I'll help get them out." Sasuke offered. Itachi gave a small smile.

"Sure."

"B-but, Sasuke!!" Naruto whined, "You're still gonna play with us, right??"

"Yeah! Just gimme a minute!" Sasuke said, standing up and running over to Sakura and Ino as Itachi started untying the ribbon that kept his hair back in a ponytail.

"Mom!" He said, tugging on Ino's skirt gently, "Do you have a brush or something with you?"

"Um, I think so.." Ino said, digging into the bag she'd brought with her, "Ah, yes, there it is. Here you go, Sasuke." She handed it to him, and he smiled at her before running back toward Itachi, who had taken his hair down and was running his fingers through it, trying to get all the knots and the petals out of it.

"Waaa.. Sasuke-kun's brother is so pretty.." Kazue said in awe to Moegi, who laughed.

"Yeah, I agree," she said with a light giggle, "He's prettier than most girls. Ne, Konohamaru-kun?" She grinned over at her friend, who crossed his arms and turned away.

"Hmph!" Konohamaru said, scowling, "I don't see what's so great about him."

"Yeah, me neither. Itachi gets all these girls going all sparkly-eyed whenever he takes me 'n Sasuke somewhere," Naruto said, his arms crossed in mimicry of Konohamaru, "It's stupid, they're always saying how pretty he is, and blah blah blah.."

"Awwh, is Naruto-kun jealous?" Kazue teased, smirking. Naruto whirled on her, face flushed.

"I am NOT!" He said, in furious denial. Kazue giggled and skipped around him.

"Naruto's jealousss.." She sang. Naruto's face turned red.

"I am not!" He said again, puffing up his cheeks and glaring off to the side, "It's just not fair. Itachi and Sasuke get lots of attention when we walk down the street."

"Yeah, but so do you.." Takeshi pointed out as he pulled the last of the petals from his dark violet hair. "They're always ruffling your hair and saying how cute you are."

"Well.. well.. hmph!" Naruto said, plopping down on the ground. Konohamaru laughed.

"Oh, don't be so mad, Naruto, you'll get your chance." He said, taking a seat down next to him and adjusting his Chuunin vest.

"Yeah!" Kazue piped up, sitting down and rubbing Naruto's shoulder, "I was just kidding, Naruto-kun.. I didn't mean any of it, honest. You'll get a nice girlfriend someday, I'm sure." She smiled and laid back down in the grass. Shiromaru barked in agreement, and she smiled.

"See? Even Shiromaru agrees."

"I guess.." Naruto said, playing with the hem of his shirt.

"Aww, don't guess, Naruto. We're sure of it. I mean, heck, even Udon got a girlfriend, and that's saying something." Konohamaru said offhandedly, smirking.

"Hey!" Udon said, frowning, "Just what is that supposed to mean??"

"Oh, nothing.." Konohamaru said, whistling in feigned innocence. Udon laughed.

"Yeah, I guess it is saying something, though, isn't it?" He said, smiling sheepishly.

"No kidding." Moegi put in, sticking her tongue out playfully at her friend. "So, relax, Naruto-kun. You'll have a girlfriend in no time, I bet."

"Yeah.. that'd be cool." Naruto said, folding his arms behind his head and falling back to look up at the bright blue sky through the trees, a calm smile crossing his face.

Sasuke watched all of this from where he was standing behind his brother.. Itachi was sitting cross-legged in the grass while Sasuke ran the brush through his long hair, pulling out all the small little petals that had stuck in it.

"Your hair got really long, Aniki.. maybe you should cut it, it's already touching the ground now," he pointed out, frowning a bit. Itachi smiled a bit and ran a hand through his long hair.

"You think so?" He asked, "I think I kind of like it like this."

"Well, it is pretty," Sasuke admitted, shrugging as he pulled the last petal from the long, soft hair, "Maybe I should grow mine out too.."

"Ooh! Can we braid it now?" Kazue asked excitedly, crawling over to the two brothers, "Please, Itachi? Can we?"

Itachi blinked slowly, and then exchanged glances with Sasuke, who just shrugged.

"I suppose.." the man said, scratching his head, "Just try not to pull it too much."

"Yay!" Kazue cheered and ran over to sit down next to Sasuke. Naruto and Takeshi followed after, while Shiromaru occupied himself with chasing a squirrel through the orchard of trees. Naruto frowned.

"Kazue-chan, I didn't think you'd be the type to braid hair.. you always seemed like a tomboy to me." He commented. Kazue glared and whapped him playfully over the head.

"Stupid, all girls know how to braid hair! Just 'cause I don't wear stupid skirts and dresses doesn't mean I don't know how!" She said, defensively. Naruto rubbed at the bump on his head.

"Jeez, okay, okay.. sorry," he said, "How about you show us how to braid hair, then?"

"Okay!" Kazue said, carefully separating Itachi's long hair into three parts. "First, you do this, and then you take two of them like this, and cross them over.."

She started showing him how to do it, and they each took turns putting a plait or two in Itachi's long hair. Naruto was careful not to pull, Itachi noticed, but he was still a little bit rougher than the rest of them. Takeshi and Sasuke both did their parts very carefully and slowly, trying to make it perfect. Kazue's hands were the fastest at it, and she finished it off, picking Itachi's hair tie from the ground and tying it off.

"There!" She said, triumphantly. "Perfect."

Itachi reached back to touch the braid that the kids had put his hair into, and smiled.

"Thanks." He said, standing up and dusting himself off.

"'kaasan!!" Naruto whined, running over to Sakura. "I'm really hungry.. can we go get some ramen from Ichiraku?"

Sakura sighed, rolling her eyes and smiling down at him.

"Can't you ever think of something else besides ramen?"

"Well, I can, but I don't wanna!" Naruto put in helpfully. Takeshi and Kazue laughed, and Sasuke only smiled, taking Itachi's hand.

"Sakura-san, I'll take them if you'd like me to." Itachi offered. Sakura blinked.

"You will? Oh, thank you, Itachi. Ino and I have a few things to talk about, anyway." She smiled. Itachi nodded.

"It's the least I can do after they helped me with my hair like this." He said, touching the braid again. Kazue giggled.

"Heehee, now Itachi-san is extra pretty!" She said, and they started down the road toward the little ramen bar. Kazue and Shiromaru ran ahead, Takeshi on their heels, and Naruto right behind them. Sasuke stayed back with Itachi, holding onto his hand tightly. Naruto suddenly stopped and ran to the side of the path.. down below was a small dock that moved out into the lake. Itachi blinked as they paused near it.. this was where Sasuke used to train when he was trying to teach himself the Goukakyuu no Jutsu.

Naruto scowled, studying the spot carefully.

"Sasuke..?" He asked, suddenly. Sasuke blinked slowly, coming up behind him.

"What?"

"Huh?" Naruto turned around, seeming to be honestly surprised that Sasuke was right there. "But.. I just.. you were down there.. weren't you? And for some reason I was mad at you 'cause you ignored me for some reason, and.. and.. then we smiled.. or.." He frowned as he trailed off, his brow furrowing in confusion. "I don't get it."

Itachi paused in step, watching the two boys. Sasuke shook his head.

"Don't be stupid, I've been up here the entire time." He said, putting his hands on his hips and pouting cutely. "Come on, let's just go get your ramen."

"Uh.. okay." Naruto nodded eagerly and grabbed Sasuke's hand, dragging him off down the road. Itachi watched them, looking back down at the small dock, and then hurried to catch them.

---**To Be Continued…**

Author's Notes: Okay, I've decided to put these down here from now on. Anyway, apologies for my slow updating times. I have serious issues with writer's block mixed with issues of procrastination.

..argh, and naturally, the day I get this chapter done, I can't upload it because has found a bug and disabled uploads, so it's even slower in coming out. Grr.

Anyway, the reference in the last part of the story was to the part of Naruto after it shows a flashback of little Naruto trying to befriend little Sasuke, and Naruto kind of glares down at Sasuke, but as he turns to walk away, they both have the little smiles on their faces.

Umm.. what else. Oh yes. Translations for those who are Japanese-impaired:

'kaasan- Short for "Okaasan", which is mother. "'kaasan" is less formal.  
Aniki- An informal way of saying "big brother". I suppose it's kind of like calling someone your "bro". n.n;  
Shiromaru- I believe "maru" is just a name ending, but "Shiro" means "white", since Shiromaru is a white puppy.

Also.. is it "Udon" or "Udou"? x.o; I don't know which name it is.. I thought it was "Udou", but all the subtitles say "Udon".. waa, forget it. xD Hopefully next update shall come more quickly.

-TAB


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